La Florida/Namaan: Investigating a Loci of Politico-Economic Influence in the Classic Maya World

Summary

Located on one of the central embankments of El Rio San Pedro Martir, the Classic Maya polity of La Florida (Namaan) is situated between prominent polities of this period (250-909 A.D.). These polities include Piedras Negras, Pomona, and El Peru (Waka), all of which La Florida seems to have had positive trade relations with. During the 2015 field season as part of El Proyecto Arqueologíco La Florida, directed by Dr. Joanne Baron, I preliminarily investigated the view sheds between structures along this embankment of the San Pedro. At the summits of five different structures in the 'El Naranjo' central acropolis of La Florida, I was able to view major tracts of land and monuments on the other side of the river. In this presentation I will use view shed analysis from the tops of structures via arcGIS to portray La Florida as a type of trade loch on El Rio San Pedro Martir. What motivated the residents of La Florida to construct their city in such a manner? Did other polities have economic or political investments at La Florida such that they used this polity as a type of trade checkpoint?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage